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The
world’s second-most populous nation with a population of nearly
1.4 billion, India is a valuable market for Amazon and its
rivals Netflix and Walt Disney Co’s Disney+ Hotstar.
"We are super excited about the launch," Gaurav Gandhi, head of
Amazon Prime Video India said at a function, adding that the
service would widen customers' reach and choice. It enables them
to pay per movie, instead of a flat monthly fee.
The move comes five years after the U.S. tech giant launched its
streaming service in India, and the company said it planned to
more than double its investment in Prime Video over the next
five years, but did not give figures.
The company unveiled plans for 41 original series in three
Indian languages, some to be produced by top Bollywood directors
such as Karan Johar and Zoya Akhtar.
Amazon has invested heavily in acquiring and producing local
content in India, where, founder Jeff Bezos said in 2020, Prime
Video was doing better than anywhere else in the world. Amazon
does not break out user numbers by country.
It is also expected to take on heavyweights such as India's
Reliance Industries, Sony Group Corp and Disney in the battle
for exclusive digital broadcast rights to the hugely popular
Indian Premier League (IPL).
(Reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar in Mumbai; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)
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